Ferne McCann has opened up about her decision to end her ITV show after her daughter Sunday posed the question, “Mummy, am I famous?”
The 34 year old TV personality, who rose to fame on Towie, invited viewers into her life with her First Time mum series during her pregnancy with Sunday, now six. Since then, she’s found love with fiancé Lorri Haines and welcomed their second daughter Finty, one, in July last year.
Despite cherishing the show as “the best home video ever” Ferne felt compelled to conclude it following Sunday’s innocent inquiry, which she shared with the Sunday Mirror: “The show has been going on for so long that we joked we’d still be filming when Sunday had children and be calling it Second Time Nan. But I knew the time would eventually come to either have a break or stop altogether, and for the last year I’ve been thinking about it.
“The point where everything changed was when Sunday actually said to me: ‘Am I famous? ‘ A few of her friends had seen her on an advert.”
She continued, “And I was like: ‘Oh I don’t know…’ It made me feel uncomfortable, because I don’t want her to feel she is different Sunday has done the show since she was born, so she’s always been aware of the cameras, but we’d never felt she was aware of the situation.
“She’s never actually watched the show. But after that it felt like a whole different ball game, so I went away and worked out what I was feeling, and it felt like the right time to stop. This show has been a glorious experience, I’m immensely proud of it and have absolutely no regrets – what an amazing home video.
“But for me now, I want Sunday to have a life where she doesn’t have to come home from school, get changed and film. This isn’t the end of Sunday being on TV – she will still pop up – but it won’t be so often.”
The cameras have followed Ferne and Sunday for 13 series, capturing all their significant moments together. When asked how she would feel if her daughter chose to pursue fame in the future, Ferne responded: “I have thought about that. What would I do if Sunday was 18 and asked to go on Love Island? The answer is, I would support her in anything she wants to do – but I want her to create her own path”, reports the Mirror.
“I actually think she’d be amazing behind the camera, she’s always been really interested in what the crew are doing. She’d be an amazing editor. But I’m still hoping she’s going to go to the Olympics because she is insane at sport. I’m biased – and I don’t want to be a momager or a pushy parent – but she really is amazing. It’s one of the great things about being a parent – when they’re good at something, and it just makes you so proud.”
Ferne shared her emotional moment, revealing: “When I told Sunday we weren’t going to be filming anymore, she was really sad. It was heartbreaking, she said to me: ‘But the camera people aren’t going to play with me anymore? ‘ We’ve been filming for so long that the crew are like family to us. And I can’t ever see my life without cameras – I love making TV and I’ve had some great experiences.”
She expressed a desire for change, telling us: “But I think it is time for me to move into other projects and do something different that doesn’t involve my family so much. I’m in talks with ITV about some projects and I’m really excited about what the future holds. And I’m always going to be an open book whatever I do, because I always wear my heart on my sleeve.”
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Ferne then discussed her aspirations, saying: “We joke that I’ve spoken to every single expert in every field. From breastfeeding to – in this series – an intimacy coach. In series, we’ve done the rounds. I’ve got so many different passions – birth breastfeeding, my faith – I’d love to explore those subjects, whether in a documentary or a different style of TV. I’d love to do a podcast, I’d love to do a book. It’s exciting and I think that I really just want to look forward to the future. When you make such a big decision, even if know it’s right, there is a part of you that thinks: ‘What if’ so I really want to be super positive now and move forward like that.”
Ferne McCann – My Family and Me is currently being broadcast on ITVBe and ITVX, every Wednesday at 9pm.
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